Town of St. Michaels, MD: Purpose of districts.

A - Agriculture District. The purpose of the A District is to promote and protect agricultural land uses and related activities that are compatible with neighboring residential and commercial uses. The agricultural zoning district may provide a greenbelt around the Town's outer limits or may preserve farmland.

(2)

R-1 -Residential 1 District. The purpose of the R-1 District is to provide for a pleasant, quiet, residential environment permitting residential and related uses. Presently developed single-family residential areas are included in this district as well as land, which will develop in the manner as set forth here in the future.

(3)

R-2 - Residential District. The purpose of the R-2 District is to provide for a pleasant, quiet, residential environment permitting residential and related uses while permitting higher density and a wider variety of dwelling types.

(4)

R-3 Residential District. The purpose of the R-3 District is to provide for a pleasant, quiet, hazard-free residential environment permitting residential and related uses while permitting higher density and a variety of dwelling types.

(5)

RG - Residential Gateway District. The purpose of the RG District is to serve as a transitional district from the more rural county development patterns to the more intense development patterns of the Town. Also, this district is intended to promote natural-looking vistas entering and leaving the Town boundaries.

(6)

WD - Waterfront Development District. The purpose of the WD District is to promote the development of the tourist trade in the area adjacent to the Town harbor to take advantage of the unique natural attraction of scenic tidewater, which is not appropriate for maritime use while preserving historic features and protecting adjacent residential areas.

(7)

CC - Central Commercial District. The purpose of the CC District is to promote, protect, and provide for the retail services center of the community and the surrounding regions.

(8)

SLC - Select Light Commercial District. The purpose of the SLC District is to provide land adjacent to residential areas for uses which are not detrimental to adjacent residential neighborhoods by functioning within the general standards and limitations outlined in § 340-86. The intent of the district is to create the potential for employment opportunities in Town, especially agricultural and seafood-related activities.

(9)

GC - Gateway Commercial District. The purpose of the GC District is to provide a viable commercial area where, through increased landscaping, alternative parking layouts, and maximum lot coverage limitations, an attractive entrance into the Town can be provided.

(10)

HR - Historic Redevelopment District. The purpose of the HR District is to foster compatible commercial and light industrial development and redevelopment in areas of the Town traditionally used for commercial/industrial purposes and where remaining historic commercial structures are suitable for adaptive reuse.

(11)

MC - Maritime Commercial District. The purpose of the MC District is to provide areas in which water-related commercial activities can be conducted. Care must be taken to ensure that activities in this district do not detrimentally affect uses conducted in areas adjacent to the Maritime Commercial District.

(12)

MM - Maritime Museum District. The purposes of the MM District are to:

(a)

Provide a place for the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum to exist and operate as a permitted use to:

[1]

Preserve and perpetuate the character and orientation of the Town to the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries on land that is adjacent to or near the St. Michaels Harbor;

[2]

Encourage appreciation, understanding, collection, preservation, perpetuation, exhibition and education concerning the history of the Chesapeake Bay, the animal life, marine life and plant life indigenous to the Chesapeake Bay, and interpret commercial, recreational and other activities directly related to the Chesapeake Bay by means of artifacts, exhibits, models, displays, examples, art, writings, and teachings regarding vessels, equipment, customs, methods, and heritage; and

[3]

Encourage, perpetuate, and protect the existence of residential uses adjacent to museums and in areas of the Town through which museum visitors must travel for ingress and egress.

(b)

This purpose of the MM District is establish restrictions and provisions which make it compatible with adjacent residential districts without the need for controls generally imposed through the special exception process.

(c)

In this chapter, museums shall be neither be considered a residential use or commercial use.

(13)

PF - Public Facilities District. The purpose of the PF District is to provide for the location and concentration of public facility uses that might, if located in other districts, tend to detract from the Town's historic character and its architectural and natural beauty. While the Town is not bound by the provisions of this chapter in the location of governmental or other public facility uses, the owners of property in this district are placed on notice that the Town intends, where practical, to concentrate in this district those public facility uses for which it finds this location appropriate.

Overlay districts.

(1)

Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Overlay District. The purpose of the Chesapeake Critical Area Overlay District is to institute regulations intended to accomplish the following:

(a)

Minimize adverse impacts on water quality that result from pollutants that are discharged from structures or runoff from surrounding lands;

(b)

Conserve fish, wildlife, and plant habitat; and

(c)

Establish land-use policies for development in the critical area, which accommodate growth as well as address the environmental impacts that the number, movement, and activities of people may have on the area.

(2)

Historic Overlay District. The purpose of creating the Historic District is to safeguard the heritage of St. Michaels by protecting and preserving buildings, structures, and sites which reflect elements of the Town's cultural, social, political, and architectural history, and to promote the educational, cultural, and economic value to the public by maintaining said area as a landmark of the Town's history and architecture.

Floating zone districts.

(1)

Purpose. Floating zones are districts that may be appropriate for the Town but are not mapped out at the time of adoption of the most recent comprehensive revision to this chapter. The purpose of the designated floating zone districts is to permit the mapping of appropriate areas for land uses that may be required over the next 20 years. The designated floating zone district provides a mechanism for the establishment of the district in appropriate areas, limiting the areas to be zoned and setting conditions that must be met by any development proposal seeking such a designation. The Town Commissioners and Planning Commission finds that they are not able to locate the floating zone with precision in advance and that it is desirable to leave specific locations and conditions for a future determination as the Town grows and specific needs develop.

(2)

Designation of floating zone district. The following floating zone districts are designated:

(a)

GA - Growth Allocation Floating Zone District. The GA Floating Zone District is not mapped but is designated for use in areas classified as resource conservation areas (RCA) and/or limited development area (LDA) within the St. Michaels Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Overlay District. The purpose of this District is to permit a change in the land management classification on specific sites so that they may be developed to the extent permitted by the underlying zoning classification. Only projects which have been approved by the Town Commissioners for the award of the critical area growth allocation are eligible for the GA Floating Zone District.

(b)

PR - Planned Redevelopment Floating Zone District. It is the general intent of the PR District to:

[1]

Accommodate growth in the Town by encouraging and facilitating new development and redevelopment on vacant, bypassed and underutilized land where such construction is found to be compatible with the surrounding neighborhood and adequate public facilities and services exist;

[2]

Encourage efficient use of land and public services;

[3]

Stimulate infill, redevelopment, rehabilitation, and general improvement of areas within the Town that have fallen into a somewhat deteriorated or dilapidated state or have been used for a purpose that no longer serves the health, safety or general welfare of the neighborhood;

[4]

Provide developers and property owners flexibility that achieves a high-quality design and result in infill and redevelopment projects that strengthen existing neighborhoods; and

[5]

Implement the goals, objectives, and policies of the St. Michaels Comprehensive Plan.